Reed frame



Dec 14, 1954 R. H. scHuERHoFF REED FRAME Filed May 20, 1953 `Roland H. Schu'erho'ff, Weston, Mass.

`Application `May 20, 1953, Serial No. 356,240 7 Claims. (Cl..139'-'48) rIThis invention relatesto :loom reeds, especially to reeds for weaving with tine yarns.

lAccording to v'established practice, reeds are usually made by -a series of steel strips mounted in sl'ots in a supporting frame; the strips are not under tension and have nothing `to hold them in alignment except their own rigidity. Tapered reeds lhave also been made in this form, one example of which is illustrated in United States Patent 1,128,821 of February 16, 1915,. The object of tapering the reed -is t'o provide an adjustable spread for the warp of the fabric so that by moving the reed up and down, Vthe width of |the fabric is varied according to the taper of the reed.l

In practice it `is Vfound that it iis not possible rto locate the dents .of the strip type of freed `'sufficiently close to provide for Weaving fabrics with the finer yarns and, as this type of reed does not apply tension to the dents, they are liable to become misplaced and get out of alignment, which alfects the uniformity of the fabric.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a reed which is relatively low in cost, which is adaptable for use on the finer grades of yarn and which is readily constructed in a tapered form for producing tapered fabrics. Another object of the invention is to provide a reed in which the dents can be made from wire to which tension is applied to maintain it taut. Other objects of the invention are to provide a reed in which the dents are made from an endless wire looped back and forth over end supports and in which the tension on each loop of the wire is automatically adjusted, and to provide a tapered reed in which the extent of the taper can be adjusted.

In the present invention, a supporting frame is provided which is interchangeable in the loom with other frames. This frame is provided with a looping bar at the top with a parallel groove spacing bar adjacent thereto, and it is provided with a second looping bar at the bottom which is maintained under tension by spring action. An endless wire, preferably made of piano wire is looped around the top and bottom supporting bars in a continuous coil. The loops from the top bar are spaced and brought into alignment by the grooved spacing bar, which for this purpose may be threaded with an ordinary screw thread. The invention is especially useful if applied to a tapered type of reed and, in this case, the wire can be looped laround the lower half of the bottom supporting bar which then acts as a separator between each loop of the wire, causing transverse spread of the reed at the narrow end.

The loops of the wire forming the dents of the reed are movable on these end supports and, as the bottom support is under spring tension, all the loops are malntained taut under tension and the free movement of the wires at the loops adjust and distributes the tension universally on all the dents of the reed. This avoids misalignment between the dents and produces a more uniform fabric.

When the reed is constructed in the tapered form, the wires at the lower end are concentrated and may even be placed in contact with each other where they loop around the supporting bar. For this purpose a pair of collars are provided on the bar and adjustably spaced so as to form a groove for receiving these loops and which may be adjusted to secure the spacing desired between each loop. In order to prevent the loops from riding upon each other, overlapping lingers are United States Patent "O ice 2 provided projecting `from the collars `which hold "the loops in alignment.

Other objects and -n'ovel aspects of the invention will be more particularly understood from -the following specication and the accompanying drawings, vin which:

Fig. l is a front View of areed with its :supporting frame constructed according 'to this invention;

Fig. 2 is across sectionon line 2--2 ofFig. l;

' Fig. 3 is an enlarged View 'of the spread Vend of 'the reed -showing the method `of looping the wiresat 'th-isfe'nd;

Fig. '4 is a side View of the supporting bar for 'the loops fat the narrow end -of the reed; and

Fig. 5 is a separate view 'of the adjustable rcollars `applied to Fig. 4 to hold the wire loops in place.

In the drawings, 1-1 denotes the sides of the frame which are connected .by the cross `.member 1112 fat `the bottom and bythe looping bar `13 at the top. `Adjacent to and parallel with the looping bar is the grooved spacing bar 1/4 4mounted in frame 11 and following this -bar :is

the stop bar 15 which :limits the upward position of the reed and 'also engagesth'e wires to ybring them into =a parallel row at the wide end of the reed. The `b'ar 1?5 is provided with legs which enter `holes in `the tra-me 11 and these legs are secured by the nuts 16.

From the bottom member Y12 the studs 21 and 122 project and slidably enter apertures 21 and 2-2 'respectively, Fig. 4, of the bottom looping bar 20, forming a guide for the latter. Coil springs l23 fand 24, 'on the studs 21 and 22, apply tension to the llooping har 20 to hold the dents of the reed taut. A collar 25, :having a wing 27 is slidably mounted on one end of bar 20 and is adjusted by the nut 29 engaging the wing 27. A similar collar 26 is provided on the opposite end of bar 20 with a wing 2S engaged by the nut 30. The space between the collars 25 and 26 is adjusted by the nuts 29 and 30 to take the spread of the looped wire at the narrow end of the reed. In order to prevent the loops from riding upon each other, overlapping lingers 31 and 31' are provided on the collars 25 and 26 to hold the wire loops in place.

The wire 35, forming the dents of the reed is looped, as indicated in Fig. 3, under bar 15, over one groove of the spacing bar 14, continuing by 36 over the looping bar 13 and returning by 37 over the adjacent groove of 14 and on the same side of 14 as the wire 36 passes over. The wire 35 at the narrow end loops around the bar 20 and returns by wire 38 to the grooved roller 14 and continues therefrom as indicated at 37. It will be noted that the wires are brought together approximately in one plane where the reed is expanded as indicated at b near the stop bar 15, and where the wires are contracted they are displaced transversely, as indicated at a, by the width of the looping bar 20.

The yarn is usually threaded through the reed where the spacing between the dents is greatest and in this connection it should be noted that the elasticity of the wire permits considerable displacement of each dent as the tool is inserted for threading purposes. The spacing between the dents at the narrow end of the reed may be less lthan the width of the yarn that is used in the reed. In this case the yarn is slightly offset as it passes over the front wire 35 on one side and the back wire 38 on the opposite side. It should be noted that the round wire from which the reed is made offers very little frictional resistance to the movement of the thread through the reed and the displacement between the wires 35 and 38 avoids sharp angular movement of the thread in the reed.

The wire is readily formed in loops and assembled on the looping bars and it should be understood lthat the grooved bar 14 may be arranged for any kind of irregular spacing of the dents of the reed desired.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end and a second looping bar at the other end, an endless wire looped freely around said bars to form the dents of the reed, means for spacing said dents, and

spring means between said frame and one of said bars for applying tension to hold the dents taut.

2. A reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end and a second looping bar at the other end, a grooved bar adjacent one f said looping bars and parallel thereto, an endless wire looped around said bars and free to move on the looping bars to form the dents of the reed, said wire loops being spaced by said grooved bar, and spring means applying tension to one of said looping bars to hold the dents taut.

3. A reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end, a grooved bar adjacent and parallel thereto, and a guide near the opposite end, a second looping bar in said frame moving on said guide, a spring retracting said second looping bar, a wire forming the dents of the reed looped around said first bar and spaced by said grooved bar and looped around the second bar, and adjustable means on the second bar for restricting the spread of the loops of the wire on this bar.

4. A tapering reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end and a grooved bar parallel thereto, a second looping bar near the other end of said frame, an endless wire looped around said looping bars and spaced at one end by said grooved bar into a series of parallel dents, and spaced transversely at the second looping bar by the width of the bar, and means for securing the loops on the second bar in a confined space to taper the reed.

5. A tapering reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end and a grooved bar parallel thereto, a second looping bar near the other end of said frame, an endless wire looped around said looping bars and spaced at one end by said grooved bar into a series of parallel dents, and spaced transversely at the second looping bar by the width of the bar, and an adjustable collar on the second bar for adjusting the space for the loops on this bar.

6. A tapering reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end and a grooved bar parallel thereto,- a second looping bar near the other end of said frame, an endless wire looped around said looping bars and spaced at one end by said grooved bar into a series of parallel dents, and spaced transversely at the second looping bar by the width of the bar, a pair of adjustable collars on said second bar for confining the loops on this bar, and overlapping fingers projecting from said collars over the wire loops to hold the loops in alignment.

7. A tapering reed comprising a frame having a looping bar at one end and a grooved bar parallel thereto, a second looping bar near the other end of said frame, an endless wire looped around said looping bars and spread at one end by said grooved bar into a series of parallel dents and spaced transversely at the second looping bar by the width of the bar, a pair of adjustable collars on the second looping bar for restricting the wires to a narrower space than said groove bar, a

sliding support for said second bar and spring means for applying tension to said bar to hold the wires forming the dents taut.

References Cited in the le of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,038 Great Britain of 1910 78,081 Switzerland Oct. 16, 1918 

